Finders are Keepers
by thebatwiggler
Summary: Betty wasn't pretty. She was clumsy, had never heard the words 'hairstyle and fashion sense' before, and wore braces at the age of 23. No, Betty wasn't pretty, but to three men she was beautiful, inside and out. DxB slight GxBxOC
1. Betty Stops For A Sandwich

**AN- **Hey everybody, this is my first UB fic, and I have a lot of energy for this one. This is AU, since I won't change the story to fit the rest of the season (unless something absolutely major is discovered) and it is based entirely on Betty, her life, and her men. I am really excited and if any of you have any ideas you want to add, review and mention them. Please leave a comment whether you like or hate my story, please?

Disclaimer- This stands true for the rest of the story; I do not own Ugly Betty, or any of the people and/or brands mentioned in this story.

* * *

Betty Suarez walked into the mode cafeteria, famished from a day full of errands, courtesy of Daniel Meade. She was tired, hungry, and dammit, if she had to see Henry running in the opposite direction every time he saw her one more time, then she would officially flip. After Henry admitted to being the father of Charlie's baby, he had avoided her like the plague, feeling as if he had betrayed her. Either way, Betty thought, he was leaving for Tuscon in two days, she heard. 

A smile lit her face once she reached the sandwich stand. Gio had refused to return when Betty had offered him his job back, but for some mysterious reason, a couple weeks later, he had returned to work as the sandwich guy. He had only started a day ago, but his presence was a welcome relief in Mode, where the models roamed and were loved, and Betty wasn't.

"Hey Gio!" She said excitedly.

"What are you so happy about? One minute you're grumbling to yourself in the hallways, and now you're little miss sunshine?" Gio said, chuckling.

"I was not grumbling! Wait, how do you know?"

"I saw you on my way to buy some more supplies. What's your deal?"

Betty rolled her eyes. He was always the rough kind of guy, she thought, but that's what made him charming. She observed him quickly, noticing his baggy pants, black, loose shirt, and slightly ruffled hair. He was handsome, and had a good heart, albeit his manners needed some adjustment. She knew that his girlfriend was a lucky girl.

"I wasn't having a good day, Daniel had me running around the city trying to track down weird photographer who just has to do next months spread. He's some reputed freelancer, and apparently he hates fashion magazines. So that's where I come in," Betty retold the story, her voice getting more venomous by the second. Honestly, she had called anyone who might know where the guy was, but he kept all of his information a secret and his assistant refused to pass her through. Betty even went in person, only to get told that he wasn't even there. She sighed irritably.

"Well that sucks," he snorted, "but why were you all smiles walking in?"

Betty smiled widely, "Just the thought of your sandwich makes me smile," she said, grinning up at Gio.

Gio stilled for a moment, but then laughed and seemed genuinely humbled and grateful for her compliment. He looked at her with a glint in his eye and Betty looked back with a smile.

"Anyways, I have to go, Daniel is gonna flip when he hears that I haven't tracked this Lopez guy," Betty explained, and she apologetically smiled.

"Hey, don't take any crap from him, alright. He works you to the bone, I swear!" Gio said, looking almost upset. 'Aw, how sweet,' Betty thought, 'he even worries for his friends.'

"Don't worry, I think I can handle myself."

* * *

"Betty! Have you gotten a hold of Lopez yet?" Daniel asked immediately after Betty got to her desk. 

Betty sighed and resigned herself to the fate of Daniel's whining over not having found Lopez.

This was going to be a long day.


	2. Betty Stops For A Chat

**AN- **Heeello people! I was pleasently surprised when I got 8 reviews! I was really happy. Believe me, that is the only reason I updated so fast. Reviews make a writer very happy.

Oh yea, a reviewer mentioned I should put more detail, and so I tried (although I'm pretty sure it's still not enough). I hope this meets your expectations! Oh, and another reviewer asked if the story was just oging to be how the guys viewed Betty. It's not. The first 4-5 chapters are the prologue of the story. Its just introducing everyone and setting up the situation with everyone and its going to introduce guy number three (yay!). So, this really _is _a story with a plot people. Oh, and chapters will be short, sorry about that, but if they are long, I will probably take weeks to get one chapter out. So I apologize.

Oh and one last thing. I am full Mexican and very traditional and I will most likely incorporate mexican traditions into the story (since Betty is mexican as well) but I will explain eveything I mention. **And I hate it when authors write long notes, so this will probably be the longest one I will write. **Now on to the story.

* * *

"Betty! Have you gotten a hold of Lopez yet?" Daniel asked Betty, impatience showing clearly on his face. Betty mentally giggled; Daniel was like a child waiting for Santa to come on Christmas.

She shook her head and said, "He's a hermit, Daniel. He refuses to talk to me, he never goes into his office, and no one knows his personal number."

Daniel frowned, and Betty wondered to herself how he still managed to look so handsome even when frowning. She sighed; that was the luck of the rich and beautiful. She had always known her boss was handsome and completely out of her reach (and practically all of the world's reach), but she still admired him and was proud to say he was her friend.

"Dammit, that guy has been giving me the slip for the past week," Daniel mumbled, "Alexis will be very disappointed when she hears about this…" Alexis hasn't regained her memory yet, but she has quickly adjusted and has become a ruthless businesswoman, more so than before. "So we might as well not tell her, right?" Betty sighed; with Alexis' reintroduction into the company, she became harsher with Daniel, trying to push him to become a better coeditor-in-chief and Daniel was not entirely happy with that. He _had _always been the type to prefer play over work, and lately, it had been more work than anything, especially with Alexis breathing down his neck.

"Daniel…," Betty started, but Daniel quickly interrupted.

"I know, I know, I have to tell her, but she gets so scary when something doesn't go her way, you know?"

"Of course I know, I'm usually the one who has to tell her when something _isn't_ going her way." Betty gave Daniel a pointed look. He had the decency to look sheepish and after a few seconds, they both grinned at one another.

Daniel got serious again, "Well, either way, we need to get him to do the cover, it _will _be the Christmas issue after all and we need it to be perfect. Besides, can you just imagine the face Wilhelmina will make when we get him to do the cover and she couldn't?" He began to smile to himself in a very demonic manner that might scare others, but only exasperated her. He was so childish sometimes, she thought.

Wilhelmina had quit Mode when she married Bradford, which Betty thought was more of a red carpet event than a wedding, what with all the news cameras and celebrities (_she_ only went because Daniel had practically begged her, saying that he might drown in alcohol if she didn't give him her shoulder to cry on. He was such a baby sometimes). She tried to bring Mode to ruin, so she could make her own magazine without competition, but Daniel (with Betty's help) and Alexis successfully put a halt to her plans, especially after Alexis denounced her as her 'best friend' when she found out they were never really friends at all from Daniel. So, Wilhelmina, angry and depressed, started her own magazine under Meade Publications. She was in constant competition with Mode magazine and every month it was a battle of who got the higher sales. Mode did better in the beginning, due to it already being a trusted and established magazine, but Wilhelmina was catching up steadily.

Daniel's father stayed out of that particular argument and was decidedly kinder to both his son and daughter, as if to make up for his past mistakes. Daniel's mother, Claire, had not been captured and was actually having a very nice, tropical vacation somewhere in Central America. She sent postcards often and her children kept a close eye on where she was.

All in all, Daniel had a very crazy home life, Betty thought. But she felt closer to him than anyone in Mode, including Christina, her best friend. She cherished him and his opinion mattered to her greatly. Although she knew that she probably didn't mean to him as much as he meant to her, but it was alright. She was his friend and that was enough.

'Huh,' she thought, 'I'm getting off track here.' She shook her head and concentrated on the matter at hand.

"I'll be sure to get a hold of him," she said.

"Good. Oh, and Betty?"

"What?"

"Get me the new designs Valentino sent us for the shoot next week, and I need to get a hold of Marc Jacobs, he was supposed to bring me some samples of his new watch collection. Oh, and before I forget, get me that article of the must-haves for next month, will you?" Daniel said, while walking out of his office, probably headed off to tell his sister the bad news regarding Lopez.

"I'll be right on it, Daniel," she sighed and got her phone. She had work to do and a whole bunch of phone calls to make.

* * *

Betty had called Marc and made a meeting with Daniel for Friday, called her father to remind him to take his pills, called Hilda to tell her that Justin's principle called again (Betty and the principle were on a first name basis, they talked so often these days), sent a message down to designs for Valentino's work, and had gotten the article Daniel wanted. And it was all done by three.

Betty was a simple girl, with simple dreams. Well, if running her own magazine was simple, that is. Anyways, she was not about to let no big-shot photographer walk all over her and refuse to even speak to her. This was her mindset as she left work (not before telling Daniel where she was going first) and headed towards the man's studio and _force _him to talk to her.

Or that was what she was planning to do before some delivery guy dropped hot menudo all over her.

* * *

**AN- Menudo is a mexican dish. It is made form the belly of the cow (tripe) and various spices are put into it. It's very good.**


	3. Betty Stops For Some Soup

**AN-** hey everyone! I realize that the last chapter was not very entertaining. But I have to establish the story (the show does have a lot of loose ends, you know?), don't worry, about one more chapter in, and its gonna get good )

One more thing. I planned on the story being DxB in the end, but if I get reviews stating they want GxB or even OcxB (not likely, but with enough reviews, maybe), so please review and tell me what pairing it should up as, ok? And if you want any particualr character to show up, or a certain issue (like the whole betty got her dad a visa by blackmail) please tell me in a review. This story will probably reach 15 chapters in total, i still dont know. Now on to the story )

**oOo**

Betty was walking through the doors of Lopez's building when, out of nowhere, menudo came flying her way.

"Don't you know that menudo is a _morning _dish?! Why in the world would you be carrying that around in the middle of the afternoon?!" exclaimed Betty. Normally, she might have felt bad for yelling and probably would not have done it, but the soup was _hot _and now, so was she.

"Chill, mami. You know I didn't mean it," said the tall perpetrator. Betty turned towards him quickly and set her glare of hate in his direction.

"Mami? Do I _look _like the type of girl you can call _mami_? Huh? Oh! I am so angry right now…," she muttered venomously, "Oh!" she whirled around quickly again. The man, no, _boy _(how could a grown man say words like mami?) seemed more than a little taken aback by her forward and angry approach, "And what do you mean by 'you know I didn't mean it?' I don't care if you didn't _mean _to but the least you can do is apologize! What is wrong with you? Did common human decency just escape you or something?" Betty didn't know why, but she was furious. It might have been from the accumulated amount of stress from work and the added pressure of finding that photographer, or Henry _leaving _to take care of a baby that was fathered with another woman, or maybe it had to do with Santos being shot not too long ago and her sister being a nervous wreck over her new beauty shop, or maybe it was a combination of all three. She didn't know, all she was aware of was the delighting feeling she got by screaming her head off at a stranger.

The man, whom Betty had just noticed was dressed similar to the men in her neighborhood, began to smile mockingly and lifted his finger to point at her head. "Ya know, that there plate was not _that _hot and I really didn't mean to throw it at ya, you know? Now stop being mad, 'cause a nice girl like you don't need to act like that, you know?" he finished with a smile, his handsome face showing even more clearly after he had lifted his head from behind his hoody. Now, looking more closely, Betty noticed that the man before her dressed very… casual. He wore a black hoody, baggy blue jeans, bright, neon green sneakers; his short hair was messy and unkempt, and he was obviously from latin decent, with his dark brown eyes, dark hair, light skin tone, and the dog tags that hung from his neck, proudly showing the Mexican flag. He didn't seem 'gangster', but he was the type to have been friends with Santos. _Best _friends. She almost wondered if he was old enough to drink.

She scoffed and replied cynically, "Look, don't try to sweet talk me, because it won't work, ok? Ugh, just forget it, I need to talk to that stupid Lopez and, ugh…," by then, Betty was muttering to herself, barely paying any attention to the boy in front of her (it was back to boy because he probably _was_ a boy), until he perked up and put his arm up against the door, stopping any further movement from her. She looked back, raising her eyebrow in a questioning and slightly ticked off manner. When he saw her look, he chuckled and quickly put his arm down, but not before asking her a question.

"You looking for Lopez?"

She stared at him and debated whether or not to answer. When she saw no harm, she opted to answer.

"Yea, my boss really wants him to do the cover for our magazine next month, but he refuses to even speak to us."

"Well, maybe that's 'cause you're from that fashion place, right?" she nodded, "He doesn't do fashion, miss." he said, smiling, as if humoring her for the moment, but then he started, noticing her still wet blouse and the obvious cold weather. "Why don't you come inside to warm up and dry off?" he asked.

Betty looked startled. "Huh? Aren't you the delivery boy?"

He chuckled softly while ushering her into the relatively small building. They walked up the stairs in silence until they reached the right door. She entered a sort-of living room with no furniture except two large sofas facing one another in the middle of the room and the desk for the assistant in the corner (the one Betty remembered all too well), but the assistant was absent from her work spot. It was small, but not cramped, and there were two doors, one on the right wall and one on the left wall. She had guessed one of them led to a studio, but she couldn't find out the last time she was there. The assistant had made sure of that, she thought sourly.

"Well?" she asked, "Do you work here or something?"

"Um, you can say I come here to learn," he said mysteriously.

"Oh, so are you his apprentice or something?"

"You could say that. So, why the big necessity to get him to take the picture? I mean, can't you get anyone else?"

"Well, yea, I guess we could, but that's not what Mode is about. Mode is about having the best; the best clothes, the best shoes, the best bags, the best models, and the best photographers. It's only logical, you know?"

"Interesting point, but come on, can you honestly blame the guy for not taking the job? All fashion is are a bunch of skinny girls playing dress up and ridiculously expensive clothes."

"I agree with you, but…"

"But?" he asked, actually interested in what she had to say.

"Well, there's so much work put into it from the designers, and then there's knowing exactly what belt goes with what pant, and even one button can ruin an entire collection. It's exciting, and being one of the people who put their time into making every issue perfect, I do become a little giddy when I see women reading it on the street or something. It's a sense of accomplishing something that seemed impossible, and I really like that feeling," Betty finished, and quite lamely, she thought. She was embarrassed that she had gone on for so long and the boy's constant stare was beginning to make her uncomfortable.

The boy smiled. "How interesting. So I take it you're into all of that?"

Betty snorted, "Oh god, no. As you can probably tell, I'm the equivalent of a fashion reject," she said as she laughed at her own joke, "I'm just an assistant, but its still really satisfying seeing everything come together."

"So if you're not into that, what are you interested in?"

Betty smiled excitedly and immediately perked up. "I plan on starting my own magazine. I have no other desire in my life but that."

"Oh, so I guess you work at Mode for the opportunities and what-not?"

"Yup, I've learned a lot while being there, it's been a great experience."

"Oh c'mon," he joked, "a bunch of stuck-up chicks who act like they own the world, how could possibly call that a good experience?"

"I may have some issues with certain people… but they aren't all bad. My best friend works there too, and my boss is great, oh! And the sandwich guy is really nice too," she said, trying to get him not to think so badly of Mode. Sure, she didn't like it much either, but having other people criticize it didn't fit well with her.

"Wow, you're nice, in that cute and adorable way, you know?" he said with a grin and a teasing glint in his eye.

She blushed deeply and turned her head. 'Who did he think he was, to tease her like that?' she thought. Suddenly, she remembered that she owed him an apology.

"Um, listen, about the whole screaming at you over the soup thing… I'm really sorry about that."

"Don't worry about it. It was an interesting encounter," he said, laughing slightly.

"I really feel bad about it…," she looked down, and by accident, caught a glimpse of her watch.

"Oh no! I was supposed to pick up the budget for Daniel ten minutes ago! Sorry," she started, and hurriedly grabbed her things and walked out the door, "and thanks for everything!"

"Wait! What's your name?"

"Oh," she popped back in quickly, "it's Betty Suarez. You?"

"You can call me J.Lo."

She blinked. "What a weird name… well, see you later!" she said, already half way down the stairs.

J. Lo., otherwise known as Jose Lopez, smiled at the closed door.

"I think I might do this photo-shoot after all…"

'Crap, crap, crap…' was the mantra going through Betty's head as she ran for the Mode building, not even giving the boy she met a second thought. She was focused solely on not disappointed her boss, Daniel Meade.

**oOo**

**AN- I went back and changed the whole Santos in a wheelchair th****ing. I forgot about it and when I vame back to read it, I was pretty surprised lol**


	4. Betty Accumilates Suitors

**AN- **there is a picture of the guy I based Lopez off in my profile. Please check it out, because his appearance does come into play and **is important to the story.** well, sorta lol Well, due to the huge uproar (but I was thankful, I sure got a lot of reviews because of it) this story will be DxB. Buuuuut! Please review. Not to make me feel better (although it will haha) but because I want to know your feelings on the story. Please. I want people to get a smile when they read my stories, not cringe at how bad it is lol. Also there seems to be some sort of time problem thingy. In my head, its November and Gio was just introduced into the story, but with everything else going on, I'm a biiit off. **So, lets pretend Gio was introduced later in the show, alright? After Wilhelmina and Alexis and everything. **Also, I lied. My AN's will still be long, I guess.

* * *

Gio was having the time of his life. His recently started business of delivering sandwiches was doing surprisingly well, he had found two new condiments to add to his sandwich superstore, and the girl who had been on his mind for the last few weeks had said that just the thought of his sandwiches made her smile. She was adorable, he thought, and his parents would love her for sure.

Walking with an extra bounce in his step, Gio headed for Betty's desk, planning to leave her a specially made sandwich (made with looooove, he thought childishly) since he didn't see her at lunch today. He was just about to walk away, when he saw that the blinds were closed on the windows of Betty's boss. Thinking she might be in there, he started trotting towards the door, but stopped when he heard a loud exclamation.

"What?! You'll really agree to do the cover? This is great! I can't wait to tell Betty-" Gio quietly scoffed to himself. He really didn't understand how Betty could work for this guy, he was like a kid. Getting him fired over a little 'Mode girl' incident, and now getting excited over a picture? L-A-M-O, was the only thing going through his mind. He was just about to leave, but quickly returned and even got closer to the door when he heard the other man speak. Well, until he heard _exactly _what the other mystery man said.

"Oh, don't worry about that. I'll tell her myself." Was it just him, or did the new guy sound a little… suspicious?

"I'm sorry? Would you happen to know Betty?"

"Yup, I do and I was meaning to bring this up later, but I guess now will do."

"I'm sorry, but I'm a bit confused. What exactly are you trying to say?"

'That makes two of us,' Gio thought. What did this guy want with _his _Betty?

Gio could practically feel the sound waves when the man snickered slightly. It wasn't a chuckle or a laugh, it was a snicker, as if Meade's ignorance on the matter was humorous. Gio, who was also out of the loop, did not take well to another man talking about his girl and indirectly insulting his intelligence. Where did this guy get off-

"I want Betty."

"What?!"

The two twin shouts were heard down the hall, bystanders stopping and actually got closer to the office, to figure out what new gossip Daniel Meade could provide them with.

Gio, not exactly pleased with the news of another man interested in Betty, especially when he had just worked up the nerves to ask her for a date today, immediately got up from his crouched position (when did he crouch down?) and stormed into the fish-bowl room.

"What exactly do you _want _with Betty?" Gio said, while trying to calm himself down. _'Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five… don't worry, he probably meant for professional help, that's all..' _

His dream was crushed the minute mystery-man, now affectionately dubbed ass-wipe, opened his mouth.

"I don't see how it's any of your business, but I'm very interested in her. By the way, who are you?"

Gio felt his anger rise, like bile in his throat. He briefly noticed that Meade hadn't said a word, and he saw, out of the corner of his eye, how dazed he seemed during the current situation. 'Whatever,' he thought, 'I'll chew this guy out on my own.'

His head moved back towards the main object of his irritation, but when his gaze focused more on the person instead of just going with the burning flow of his anger, they widened considerably.

"Wait, how old _are _you, kid?"

The boy angrily stood up from his sitting position and, well… he sorta towered over Gio. But Gio was not about to back down to a tall freak of nature.

Gio raised hi eyebrow. "Listen Shaq, I'll have you know that Betty is my girl, got that? Now why don't you go back to your little high school, ok?"

"Funny, little man," the boy snorted, "Especially since I'm 25. And how is Betty your girl? The receptionist out front said she didn't have a boyfriend," he smirked.

Gio snorted, "She might not know it yet, but she _is _my girl." '_Wow, that sounded a whole lot better in my head._' Gio shrugged, not really caring that he sounded a bit like a stalker.

The boy looked ready to pounce, but a loud slam from Meade's corner of the room stopped the boy from advancing on Gio any more.

"Both of you better listen to me right now," Meade was very dazed, Gio observed, "_Betty _is a person, _not _a thing to posses." He turned towards Gio. "Got that?"

Gio bit back his reply which had some very colorful words in it. This guy was in charge of him still being hired in the building.

Meade looked towards the boy now. "Lopez, you will be hired as a formal employee of Mode. We do not do or encourage the sort of thing where we _give _people to other people, especially if this is Betty we are talking about. I will not tolerate you making a joke out of this and hurting Betty in the process. If you do not agree with my rules, then you can leave," Meade pointed towards the exit, "there's the door."

Gio felt happy that the boy was gonna get the boot. He grinned maliciously, but it his grin turned suspicious when the boy smiled innocently, and Gio wondered if the kid was maybe a psycho. He'd have to look into it.

"Oh no, I never meant my remark to seem like that. I meant I was interested in working with her, is all. She was the one who inspired me to accept the job offer here, after all," the boy grinned like a very innocent boy, not the ass wipe he was. Gio felt his insides churning because he knew the other guy had just lied his butt off.

There was a resounding knock at the door.

"Daniel, I have the papers you wanted me to-" Betty stopped, and Gio couldn't help think that confusion was a very cute face on her.

"Gio? J.Lo? What's going on?"

All three occupants of the room instantly looked at one another and there was silent agreement of not telling Betty what just went on.

Meade sighed and slumped in his chair. "Nothing Betty, all that happened was Lopez accepting the job."

Betty squealed (or shrieked, Gio couldn't tell the difference) and hugged the closest person to her. Which happened to be Gio.

When seeing the angry and murderous looks on both the other man's faces, he almost felt like doing a victory dance.

He settled for hugging her back.

* * *

Dun dun dun. Jealosy! lol But before all of you get confudled- Lopez likes Betty, and Gio likes Betty, but DANIEL has known her a waaaay longer so you do the math. Gio and Lopez have spent a day with her but Daniel has spent a year (or so). Just so all of you get the idea of where this story is going. Oh and sorry for not updating soon! I had 3 essays due this week. ( school sucks lol


	5. Betty Accumilates Headaches

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* * *

AN- **I am sooooooo sorry for taking so long to update! But school's been a bitch and I've been its hoe for the lat month or so lol I WILL update no matter what, and this story will end. And I plan to have a sequel, who knows. But keep reveiwing and reading! Remember that writers live off of reviews lol I loooove you guys for all of your support ok? **AND LOOK AT THE PICTURE OF LOPEZ IN MY PROFILE PLEASE!**

Anyways, just so you know, everything (like the betrayed daniel and alexis' memory) will be resolved but i can officially say this is now an AU lol

* * *

"Wait, wait, _wait._ You're Jose Lopez? But I thought you were the apprentice or _something_, I mean, you barely look like you've graduated form high school!" Betty said, practically in shock.

She was not having a good day at _all. _The crazy hobo near Hilda's new salon (it was a work in progress, Justin called it. Betty called it the breeding ground for loonies, homeless people, and crack heads) had offered her a dollar if she licked him. _Licked _him.

Needless to say, she was out of there pretty darn fast. She even threw her father's homemade _enchiladas_ at him (the reason she was even there) to slow the hobo down.

It worked effectively enough, but the mental scarring she had endured was a lot to handle any other day, and then she missed lunch. Because Daniel wanted some stupid _papers. _

Things had barely started to look up when she was informed that Lopez was going to do the shoot. No more running around for her! She was ecstatic and joyful, even hugging Gio in the process of her happiness.

But that _kid _was _Lopez???_ She yelled at him for goodness sake! Wait, what if he wasn't here to accept the offer, but to extract revenge on her for treating him like a delivery guy and yelling at him for the soup, and oh crap.

She had just said that he barely looked older than a teenager. She groaned loudly and hung her head.

Lopez laughed, and seeing that Betty stiffened and stood like he was going to yell at her, he put his arm around her shoulder.

Betty whipped her head up and stared up at Lopez. He grinned down at her, and she felt warm being under his shoulder like that. A boy-_man _that cute had never put his arm around her like that. Hilda always got that particular privilege.

"Chill, _mami_," his grin morphed into an amused smile, obviously recalling her outburst the last time he called her that, "I came here to inform your boss that I would be very happy accepting the job here. Oh, and I _am _out of high school, I just turned 25 a couple weeks ago. Woulda loved it if you coulda come, _mami. _"

Wow, he is really cute when he smiles like that, Betty mentally giggled to herself.

A cough irrupted from the door, where Betty was situated just moments ago. Gio pointedly looked from Lopez to Betty and to his arm _around_ Betty.

Betty colored slightly. Even she (as oblivious as she was about some things) could tell what Gio meant by that look. She shook his arm off and quickly went to Daniel's side, hading him the papers he had asked for. She stayed by Daniel's side (safe from behind the desk) and smiled at the other two men in the room.

Lopez frowned, dissatisfied with the turn of events, and looked towards Gio. "Meade (no Mister? Betty thought confused), shouldn't the _help _get back to work?"

Betty winced slightly, knowing that with Gio's personality, something bad, probably violent, was going to happen.

She was right, much to her dismay.

"_Excuse _me? Look, you little wanna-be Ricky Martin-"

"Ricky Martin? I'll have you know that clothes are fashionable, _old man."_

"Well, _little boy, _I don't exactly care about that so why don't you go run along and play with some Pokemon cards? Let the _adults _talk."

By then, both of the two men arguing were barely an inch away from each other. Betty tried to cut in, to stop a fist fight from breaking out.

"Guys, both of you, calm down, please?"

Two twin shouts of "Stay out of this!" was her response.

Betty, slightly miffed about getting told off, crossed her arms and pouted. Daniel stifled a chuckle when he saw her deflated expression and instead turned his attention to the other men.

"Gio, could you please step out? Me and Lopez still have a few things to work out, so I would really appreciate it."

"Sure," he shot a glare toward Lopez, "besides, somebody's cheap dollar-store cologne was contaminating the air."

He left, and most of the tension left with him. Lopez whirled around and sent Betty a dashing smile. "So. I guess you're going to be my assistant for the next couple of weeks, ya?"

"Huh?" she shot Daniel confused eyes, but he seemed about as clueless as her.

"You know, as my condition to work on this? That's the only thing I require really, and you end up winning 'cuz I'll even keep my price moderately fair," he grinned, "So, what do you think?"

Betty didn't have a problem with it, although she wasn't all to comfortable leaving Daniel, and Lopez probably only wanted her because he needed an extra hand. Regardless, she would sacrifice herself since she knew how important it was to Daniel and disappointing him was something she hated doing.

"Alri-"

"No."

Silence followed Daniel's sentence and Betty could only wonder why he was against it. She didn't have any immediate duties to attend to and Lopez was _really _wanted, so why the sudden refusal to cooperate?

Apparently, Lopez felt the same. "Why? She can skip out on a couple weeks, can't she? And if she absolutely needs to do something, I can let her go-"

Daniel cut him off effectively and quite coldly. "You are mistaken if you think that because I hired you, you can do whatever you like. She is my assistant and she will remain that way, for however long she is employed here. You do _not _hold that kind of authority here, Mr. Lopez, understood?"

Betty was more than a little shocked by Daniel's speech and she fully expected for the other man to back off.

She was _way_ off, if Lopez's ticked demeanor told her anything.

"Well then, I suppose I'll take my business elsewhere." He turned around probably to leave, when his way was blocked by a person. A very blonde and pretty person, Lopez noted.

Alexis smiled. "Now, now boys. I'm sure both of you can compromise so that _everyone _gets what they want, right?"

Daniel sighed, more than a little annoyed by then.

"Doesn't anyone know how to _knock_?"

* * *

Enchiladas are kind of like tacos but not really lol look them up if you're really interested cuz im really tired sorry lol


	6. Betty Accumilates Nosy Meades

**AN-** Alright, this is the LAST filler chapter lol Next chapter is the DRAMA haha. Well, I am very happy to know that I have about an average of ten reviews per chapter (but chapter 2 which is ironically the daniel chapter lol) so yea. I'm haaappy, especially with the four day weekend so you might get an extra chapter this same weekend.

Maybe. If you review lol just joking.

**SPOILER- **OH. The episode next week is gonna be a BUMMER. It seems like Gio is gunna date Hilda. Eeeew lol -**SPOILER**

* * *

Alexis Meade was not stupid. In fact, if you were to ask her, she would say she was pretty damn smart, what with going to an ivy league school and being part of the infamous Meade family, and all that. 

And a smart person like her knew when to observe and when to keep her mouth shut.

She knew many of the things that happened in Mode- the secret sex room that Christina and Amanda often got drunk in, Mark's agreement with Wilhelmina to spy on Mode while he worked there, even her own regained memory she kept secret until she deemed the moment appropriate.

She observed silently, and she would be lying if she said it didn't amuse her, especially Daniel.

She cackled mentally. Oh, how she _loved _observing Daniel. He was his own little soap opera, with special guest star appearances every night in the form of models.

But it was the lack of said models that caused Alexis to begin looking more into the seemingly simple persona of her brother. She noticed how he had more and more late nights in the office over the simplest matter and how he refused various offers to go out and have fun. He wasn't out at ungodly hours in the morning and was asleep by ten o'clock.

Alexis almost believed that aliens had taken over his body, but she kept quiet about her very likely (well, at that point it _seemed _likely) suspicion. She kept a constant eye on him and what she found amused her to no end.

He was in love. It explained why he never had dates any more, not even to formal ones for the company. He stayed at the office or at home and his interest in the opposite sex had diminished practically into nothing.

She then tried finding any possible candidates for his love and found none. It was when she gave up that Alexis finally figured out who it was.

The late nights over insignificant matters with his _assistant. _The _assistant _that accompanied him for all of the formal events. All of the outgoing calls in Daniel's cell to his _assistant. _The looks Daniel sent his _assistant. _Daniel's best friend who happened to be his _assistant. _

He was a man possessed when it came to her and it surprised her (and irked her) that she never figured it out before. He took so much care that no one hurt her and she knew for a fact that that Henry guy was definitely _not _getting paid the appropriate amount for an accountant at Mode.

Of course she was happy that Daniel had finally looked past all of the glamour and superficiality, and finally looked at the inside, but she still worried.

She worried that Betty wouldn't accept it (that girl was stubborn as hell) and that Daniel wouldn't _attempt_ it.

Because Daniel wasn't even aware that he stood a chance with Betty. _That _was the amusing part of it all. The biggest play-boy of all time couldn't muster up the courage to ask Betty Suarez out. _Betty Suarez. _

The girl was a sweetheart, don't get her wrong, but there shouldn't be a man alive that was afraid of talking to _her. _She had the fashion sense of a blind person, had the thickest and most horrendous glasses known to man, was chubby (and with her appetite, it's be a miracle not to be, Alexis mused), and had _braces. _At _twenty-three!_

How Daniel had gotten it into his mind that this particular girl was too good for him, she had no idea. Sure, Betty was a real nice girl and she didn't flinch everytime Alexis talked to her, but she couldn't be that great, could she?

Alexis sighed. Thank god she wasn't a man anymore, because they were a weird species, she thought humorously.

So her brother's incapability to show his feelings for the girl he loved was why she was outside of Daniel's office at that very moment. She was going to go up to him and tell him exactly what she thought he should do concerning Betty.

That was the plan, but it changed the moment she overheard _exactly_ what was going in her brother's office.

* * *

"Now, now boys. I'm sure both of you can compromise so that _everyone _gets what they want, right?" 

Daniel had no idea what his sister was up to, but he did _not _like it. She was grinning the ever evil I-know-something-you-don't-know-and-I-will-exploit-it-in-the-most-embarrassing-and-horrifying-way-_ever._

God, how he hated that grin. He had been on the receiving end way too many times for him not to.

Alexis focused her attention to Lopez and smiled her supermodel smile, but Lopez was unaffected and Daniel bemusedly wondered if he was gay.

Well it was obvious he wasn't, with his little shower of affection towards Betty still imprinted in his mind for god knows _how _long, but he could wonder.

And hope.

"Now Mr. Lopez," Alex swung her arm around the wary photographer, "I am the co-editor in chief of Mode, meaning that I have as much power as Mr. Grumpy over there," she pointed to Daniel, "so if you would rather deal with me on this very interesting proposition of yours…"

Lopez grinned (dirty son-of-a-, Daniel mentally ranted) and immediately grabbed Alexis' hand and shook it eagerly.

"Better you than the guy with a stick shoved up his-"

Daniel shot daggers at the guy, wishing not for the first time that he had a flamethrower. Or something of that sort.

"Um, if I may?" asked a tentative Betty from the corner. Daniel almost snorted; Betty was never that meek or polite around him. Must have been that damned Lopez's influence.

Alexis nodded to Betty, giving the affirmative.

"Well," she started, " If I break down my schedule, maybe a day with Daniel and a day with Lopez-"

"Call me Jose," Lopez said charmingly.

Daniel gagged.

Betty blushed slightly but continued either way, "Jose, then maybe there won't be a problem. I mean, how long will the shoot take? A week? And then a few more days to decide which picture stays and such? That's not even a whole two weeks, so if I alternate my time everything should be fine."

Daniel huffed and slouched in his chair. He hated that his assistant wanted to over-throw his authority, but he absolutely abhorred the idea of her wanted to spend _time _with that… thing. Besides, he needed Betty to be there for _him, _to bring him his bagel and to give him encouragement and to just plain _be _there. He didn't know if he could survive not having her there for more than half of the week.

That last thought shook him more than he'd like, and resembled the growing number of thoughts that he had each day that were 'Betty' related.

After the whole debacle with that horrid Henry guy, it was Daniel that was left to pick up the pieces. He was the one that talked on the phone with her when she couldn't stop thinking about him at odd hours of the night. He was the one who took her to action movies and horror flicks, because the mere thought of romance made her teary. He was the one who dried her _tears_ because it _hurt _so damn much.

And _damnit, _he was not about to allow another good-for-nothing-_bastard_ hurt her all over again.

He didn't care if they seemed like they cared for her, he would have none of it. Which was why he was going to refuse the offer right now.

"I refu-"

"Agreed," Alexis said, effectively cutting him off, "How about we start next week on Monday. Lopez, you'll be speaking to me mainly that day concerning the cover so Daniel can have Betty that day. Also, lets establish some rules. Rule number one- no calling Betty when it's the other person's day," she pointedly looked at Daniel and Lopez, "Rule number two- no working late nights, it would be unfair to Betty(Alexis completey ignored Lopez's obvious snicker at the words 'late nights'). Rule number three- if Betty doesn't want to do something, you have absolutely no authority to force her," this time, her eyes were focused on Lopez.

_Jose _(Stupid and unimaginative name, if you asked him. 'Daniel' was a way better name.) raised his arms as if to say, 'who, me?'.

Good, Daniel thought, at least Alexis got the same 'creep' vibe from Lopez that he did. What was _not _good was the agreement that just occurred in his office without his consent.

"I haven't agreed to this, Alexis."

Alexis pinned him with her stare of impending doom and said, "Daniel, I expect you in my office in fifteen minutes. We have some matters to... discuss," then she walked out, not unlike the queen she believed herself to be.

Daniel thought that he may have felt a little vomit in his throat at that point.

"So," Lopez said, dragging the letter 'o', "Betty, what you doin' tonight?"

Daniel was now _sure _that he threw up in his mouth.

No doubt about it.

* * *

**AN- CLIFF HANGER. **Well, sorta. What is Alexis gonna say to Daniel? Confront him about his feelings or just force him to accept Lopez sharing Betty? What will happen???

Woooow this was a quick update, no? So be good little reviews and well, review. It will motivate me! Muahaha lol Anyways, next chapter begins the drama!!! Dun-dun-dun.

Arent all of you happy that all of the fillers are done??? Now the plot begins and we see love, jealosy, and OMG betrayal? Oh, and my knoweledge of photography is nonexistant and I couldn't figure out how long a photo shoot took so i guessed.

**And BTW, I was thinking that if any of you had any specific scenes that you wanted to appear in this story, just tell me. I want to write for your enjoyment, which is my enjoyment. So yea. That means everybody's happy lol**


	7. Betty Finds Understanding

**AN- **Heeey everybody! I got a lot of reviews last chapter and it motivated me to write even more! And thanks to the people who gave me those excellent ideas last chapter, because I already have them planned for later in the story! **So keep giving me them ideas!** It makes it more interesting and challenging for me.

Ooooh and I'm planning on writing a second fic that is UB but will be almost completely AU. Should I start it now and that way you guys can have two fics to read or should I finish this and update faster? Please tell me in your reviews.

And one last thing- does anyone know how to get rid of the charges on Claire? I kinda need her for the story and I really don't want her arrested or in hiding. PLEASE give me an idea!

* * *

Daniel had left the office in a huff and Betty was more than a little disappointed to see him leave. She was hoping he'd stay or at least give her some work to do. With Lop- _Jose _and his natural ability to force her to look at him, she was beginning to be more than a little uncomfortable. Especially with him staring at _her. _

While having a gorgeous guy constantly stare at you for the last ten minutes gave most girls a self-esteem boost, Betty was more worried with questioning his reason for staring.

With her luck, she had something in her teeth or on her face, even though she didn't eat lunch.

"Can I, uh, help you with something?" she asked tentatively. She hoped that whatever embarrassing thing she had done now wouldn't be _too _horrifying.

He smiled, and Betty could have sworn there were angels singing 'Hallelujah' in the distance.

"Yea, you can help with somethin'. You could help by answerin' my question, _mami._"

"Huh?" she asked confused, "What question?"

He chuckled lightly and sat down in one of the chairs meant for Daniel's visitors. He lifted his shoes on top of the table, and Betty forced herself not to frown in disapproval and instead focused on his attire, or rather, his change in attire.

Instead of the hoody and baggy jeans she saw him wearing last time, he wore a slick suit, the kind Daniel wore on a daily basis, and to top it off he had black classy shoes to match. What happened to his other clothes?, she wondered.

"The question I asked 'bout yo' business tonight."

"Oh," Betty decided to ignore him, knowing that he couldn't honestly be serious about what he was asking. Instead she asked a question she found more urgent than his little 'prank'.

"Why are you all dressed up today?" she stopped and thought some more, "And why do you talk differently when everybody else is around?"

Jose seemed startled by the question and for a moment his smile dropped, but it soon reappeared on his face. He motioned for Betty to sit in the chair beside him, and although she rolled her eyes, she complied.

"Well, coming from the Bronx and all, I grew up in a different… 'environment' than those I work with. So for people to take me seriously in the business, I have to spruce up, you know? The way I dress and speak is usually a turn off for big spenders in the photography and art world. They wanna hear 'sophistication' when I talk, not the accent of a some Mexican kid who grew up hard."

She culd honestly say that his honesty startled her a bit, but she appreciated the sentiment of him telling her that. Betty smiled and reached over to take his hand in her own.

"I know how you feel. When I first came to work at Mode, I was blown away by all of the prejudices I faced. People judged me by my lack of fashion sense, and being from Queens didn't exactly help. I even tried changing my image once to be more 'Mode' but it didn't really work out," she laughed lightly.

Betty's eyes looked up to meet his, and they both grinned at one another, relishing in the moment they had just shared. Betty's respect for the man grew significantly, and she felt that her understanding of him grew as well.

Betty sighed and began to loosen her hold on Jose's hand, but he seemed against the idea. He instead tightened his grip and leaned forward.

A little too forward for her taste.

"N-now hold o-on a mom-"

* * *

"Alexis, I absolutely refuse to let that man take Betty for a week! Let me remind you that she is my assistant and therefore, as assistants should, she should be there _assisting!_" 

Alexis grinned mockingly. "Aren't you being a little too… possessive?"

Daniel sputtered, at a loss for words. "Who, me? What? That makes no sense! I mean, she's _just Betty_! What's there to be possessive about?"

Alexis reclined in her chair and lifted her index finger to her chin.

"Oh, I don't know Daniel, maybe because you're just the tiniest bit attracted to her? God knows _why, _but you apparently are."

"Wh-what?! That's preposterous!"

"You just used a big word. Which means you're lying."

"Excuse me? That doesn't mean anything! And I am in no way attracted to Betty!"

"So, if you aren't attracted to Betty, then you wouldn't care if she saw other people right?"

"Right!"

"And you wouldn't care if she spent _time _with other people right?"

"Right!"

"So you agree to Lopez getting her for the next week or so?"

"Right- Wait, what?"

"Then it's agreed," Alexis stood up and practically pushed Daniel out the door, "Since you don't care about Betty, let's go give Lopez our total support in this deal."

"Wait- um, what- _huh?_"

* * *

Daniel was at a loss for words when he spoke to Alexis earlier, but his vocabulary expanded in mere seconds when he reached his office. 

"What the _hell _is going on in here?" Daniel seethed.

The silence was deafening, save for Alexis' laughter and continuous shouts of "this is better than Jerry Springer!"

* * *

**AN-** It's a cliffy! What exactly went on in daniel's office? Will lopez live through daniel's anger? And when does GIO come back??? Stay tuned! lol 

I just had to include a little shout out to Monkaholic in here. Try and find it in the story, its kinda obvious if you've read her UB story.

Ooook, it's short and probably not very good, but I wanted to give to you all because of the amount of reviews and support I got last chapter. I Love you guys!


	8. Betty Finds Trouble

**AN-** Alright, you guys are just amazing! I love my reviewers to death, I absolutely do!!!! -HUGS- Ok, im planning on starting two more stories for UB, but no matter what, I will finish this. YAY! And since I made you guys wait so long, this chapter is extra long! And I know this all seems to be going at a kinda fast pace, but well, I had about 5 chapters of build up already lol. Hope you all enjoy! Oh, and a quick shout out to SKRowling because she asked if Menudo is sold n U.S. and yes it is. Mostly only in the morning, and sometimes not so good, but they do sell it here.

**BTW- **For the 100th reviewer I will dedicate a oneshot to them with whatever character or situation they want in it. It will be their story, but I'll write it, so come on people! Review!

* * *

Betty's whole body was stiff with embarrassment and she felt Jose's breath on her neck as his strong, muscular body lay on top of her. 

She put her hands on his chest to push upward when at that exact moment, Daniel and Alexis walked in.

After his scream of shock (and Alexis' non-stop laughter), Betty groaned and tried to explain to Daniel the reason they were in such a position in the first place.

* * *

_Betty felt Jose lean into her and she, out of pure instinct, put her hands on his chest. He looked questioningly at her, wondering why she stopped him. _

"_You don't like me?" he asked bluntly._

_Betty blushed completely and she stammered out a, "Th-that's n-not it!"_

_He grinned charmingly, and Betty almost questioned why she **had **stopped him. She quickly dropped that line of thought and instead focused on the matter at hand._

"_Look, Jose," she said, more sure of herself now that she got a hold of the situation, "I don't know if this is some kind of bet or if somebody put you up to this, but I am **not **the kind of girl you play with, got that?" Betty said, anger spurring itself in her gut after every word she uttered. _

_Jose blinked, confused, and then a burst f laughter erupted from his mouth._

"_You really are special kind of chica, you know that?" he said, his eyes twinkling._

_She blinked, utterly confused by his statement._

_Then, almost as fast as Speedy Gonzalez, his whole composure changed and he was so serious it almost scared Betty a little. _

"_Mami, I got no reason to be playin' with you at all. Now, I don't know what them other guys be doin' to you, but don't ever think that just 'cause a guy shows some interest, it's a joke. You too good for that crap. You're a special girl, I can tell just by looking' at you, and you a good girl. That's why I like you."_

_Betty was stumped, having never heard words like that come out of a guy like Jose. _

"_Bu-but you're… hot!" she said with astonishment._

_He chuckled and responded, "And you're sexy."_

_Betty blushed and shook her head so fiercely that Jose had to grab her shoulders and stop her._

"_Look," he said, "Do you like the way you are?"_

_Betty hesitated, but she nodded._

"_Then why is it hard to believe that others do too?"_

_Betty hung her head and she thought deeply about he said. She knew he had a point, but she was still suspicious because no matter what he said, she knew that he was way out of her league._

_Instead of voicing her thoughts, however, she asked, "So this isn't a joke, right?"_

_He grinned and instead of answering her, he leaned in close and when Betty looked up, she was so startled that she leaned back, forgetting that she was sitting sideways, and promptly fell on her butt. _

_Jose, still holding on to her shoulders, soon followed and was currently laying on Betty, who was in turn laying on the floor.

* * *

_

After explaining (ok, lying) to Daniel about the happenings in his office (I swear, Daniel, there was a slight tremor in the office. What? Of _course _its normal to have an earthquake in New York!), Jose had left, promising Betty that he would be back on Monday with a wink.

Daniel, as became custom when it came to Lopez, glared.

Alexis, having practically peed her pants form laughing so hard, left the room in favor of getting ready for a date she had planned for that night.

That left Betty alone. With Daniel. A very quiet, very angry Daniel.

"So…," said Betty.

Daniel didn't reply and that hurt her more than him screaming ever could.

"Well, since it's about time to go home, why don't I just pack up already?" Betty asked. His silence and refusal to acknowledge her was cutting so deep into her that she almost couldn't breathe.

"Alright."

Curt, cold, and dismissive. He really was mad, Betty thought. Having one of her most precious friends angry at her made her feel lower than dirt, but when the person was Daniel, she felt like her whole reason to live was gone.

* * *

Betty was walking out of Mode extremely slow, waiting, _hoping, _that Daniel might stop her and ask her for dinner or a chat. 

She gave up when she reached outside and began to climb in a cab when, out of nowhere, Gio climbed in after her.

"Um. Hi?" she asked, clearly confused by his presence.

He smiled at her and put his arm around her.

"Wanna go on a date with me?"

Betty's first instinct was to reject him before he said 'prank!', but after speaking with Jose and her sadness with having Daniel mad at her, she felt no harm in accepting.

"Alright."

* * *

He took her to a small little chinese restaurant and they enjoyed small talk, but it was mostly banter and arguments. Betty was surprised when there didn't seem to be a some under-handed reason for asking her out and eventually relaxed. He really knew what buttons to push on her, and she in turn took no crap from him, so the conversation was fun to have. 

"You've never seen _Scarface? _What is wrong with you?" asked Gio, obviously shocked that he liked a girl with such minimal knowledge of movie classics.

Betty snorted. "Why would I watch a movie with a guy who calls a gun his 'little friend'? That's just plain weird."

It wasn't like hanging out with Henry, whom she tried to constantly impress, or Jose who made her so nervous she stuttered. It wasn't even like being with Daniel, who made everything just right.

Gio was like a big brother who pissed you off and made you cry for fun, but you still loved. She had no qualms with being herself around him.

She was in the middle of a fight defending Lords of the Ring against Star Wars when her phone rang. Well, more like sang.

_Shawty had them Apple Bottom Jeans [Jeans_

_Boots with the fur [With the fur_

_The whole club was lookin at her _

_She hit the flo [She hit the flo_

_Next thing you know _

_Shawty got low low low low low low low low _

Gio, amused at Betty's choice of song, waited for her to answer the phone. Betty, already knowing who it was the moment the phone started singing, immediately snapped the phone open.

"Daniel?" Betty said.

Gio frowned.

"_What_? Look, I'll be there in five minutes, I'm not too far from the office actually," she began, rising from her chair, "No, I didn't go home. What? Of course you aren't interrupting anything important,"

_Ouch, _thought Gio.

"Just stay tight and wait for me, ok?"

She turned to Gio, "I'm really sorry, but there's been a little bit of a crisis with my boss, so I have to leave. Maybe we could do this another time?" she offered.

"Don't worry about it, it's not like we were doing anything of _importance."_

"I didn't mean it like that," she said, but Gio could tell that she felt no actual remorse as her eyes focused on the door and her cell phone.

"Just go," he said, "We wouldn't want your boss to have a _crisis, _would we?" Gio hated that he sounded so bitter, but he couldn't help himself.

She was, after all, practically ditching him in the middle of a date for her _boss, _and her not even hesitating to leave him didn't help his mood much either.

While Betty almost ran people over trying to get to the exit of the restaurant, Gio focused on his new life choices that he just made.

One- no more working in Mode. Two- no more falling for Mode girls.

At least he could now focus completely on his sandwich superstore, he thought optimistically.

* * *

**DUN DUN DUN! **What happened with daniel??? If Gio is gone, what will happen with Jose???

And who's the person Alexis went on a date with???

(**chica- **kind of slang for lil girl. It's like 'chick' in english)


	9. Betty Receives News

**AN- **Alright, sorry this chapter took a while, but I had to revise ch. 4 on my other story, so I took a while for this one. I hope this chapter lives to everyone's expectations and that you all like it!

**The 100th reviewer will probably be known soon, so come on! You get a oneshot with whatever you want (pairing, item (whipcream hmmm), or even just a one-liner), and it will be dedicated to you! Or I could just dedicate it to you and I write the story, whatever. It's a gift, so come on! Review!

* * *

**

Betty ran as far as her legs could take her. She was unable to hail a cab, so her best possible option was running, until a taxi took pity on her and stopped. She climbed in, rambled Mode's address, and tried to calm her racing heart.

Everything and anything that wasn't Daniel Meade left her, abandoned her mind and left only one sentence-

_Let him be ok. _

The car stopped in front of Mode and she threw a few bills at the man, not bothering to look back, and practically flew out of the car. When she stood upright, she was greeted by Daniel.

He stood outside the entrance of his family's company and he seemed completely empty, devoid of emotion.

When he saw, no, _sensed, _that Betty was there, he grabbed her wrist and pushed her back into the taxi. He told the driver the street of his apartment, and leaned back into the cushions of the seat.

He didn't let go of Betty's wrist and Betty didn't ask.

* * *

Once inside of Daniel's spacious apartment, Betty had no idea what to do. Daniel had gone to his bedroom and just spread out on top of it like he was making a snow angel. 

She was kind of freaked out, but she understood his need to think things over and instead stationed herself in the kitchen. Seeing that Daniel actually had food in his kitchen (ok, so she was the one who put it there, but she was surprised he still had most of it), she decided to prepare him something to eat.

Since she couldn't cook anything but Latin food (maybe a grilled cheese, but she burnt them quite often), she made him a dish she hoped would make him feel better. She was happy (and lucky) to notice he had everything needed to make him the dish she had in mind.

* * *

"Daniel," she whispered gently from his doorway, "I made you some _tostadas de ceviche. _Remember?" she added after getting no response from him. Concerned, she stepped deeper into the room, "The ones that you liked so much that you took extras home when my Dad made- Ah!" 

The sound of a dish falling to the floor echoed in the ridiculously large room, but Betty paid it no heed as she had better things to worry about.

Such as the reason for her dropping the plate in the first place.

Daniel, remarkably fast for a previously unresponsive person, had grabbed Betty by her wrist, forcing her to drop the plate, and pulled her to him. He sat on the bed, his feet on the floor, with his arms encircling Betty's waist, and his face pressed into her stomach.

Betty, more shocked than anything, just stood there like stone.

And then Daniel spoke.

"The lawyers… for my mother's case. They called today."

Betty stopped breathing _Oh god no, they caught her, they caught her, please don't have let them catch her…_

"The charges are going to be dropped."

"_What?!"_

Daniel momentarily let go of Betty so he could stand, but he was soon on the bed again with Betty by his side, having dragged her down with him.

He laughed like a young boy, his handsome face scrunching up in happiness and his bright blue eyes dancing with mirth.

"Bu-but how, Daniel?"

Daniel shrugged. "Apparently it was all Wilhelmina. She killed Fey with poison right before she went for a drive, that way she would lose control of the car and crash. So even if my Mom cut the brakes, Fey was already dead when it happened. Apparently, somebody reported it all to the police because Willy-dearest had begun threatening them to keep their mouths shut 'or else'."

Betty, who was currently sprawled on the bed in an uncomfortable position but couldn't care less, hugged Daniel fiercely.

Daniel grinned, and he leaned back into the bed so he was facing the ceiling, Betty laying on his left arm.

"Everything is going to go back to the way it was supposed to be, Betty. Dad is divorcing Wilhelmina and is stopping production on her magazine. My Mom is coming back and is going to be with my Dad again. Alexis is alive and damnit, my family might actually be complete for the first time in a long time."

Betty soothingly traced circles on Daniel's hand. "I knew everything was going to be alright for you Daniel. I knew it."

She looked up at him and he looked down at her.

All was well in the world.

* * *

Sweet smells and beautiful singing were the first things Daniel became aware of when he woke up in the morning. 

The second thing he noticed was his sore neck and lack of comfortableness.

Despite that, however, he couldn't keep the smile off of his face when he remembered the prior day's events. He became insanely happy once he realized Betty was still in his apartment.

He got up, deciding that he should freshen himself a little before he made his appearance. Once showered and in clean clothes, he walked to the kitchen but found it scarce. He heard the click of the door and ran almost comically fast to the hallway.

"Betty!" he exclaimed, "Why are you leaving?"

Betty, obviously startled, took a few seconds to compose herself.

"I never called my family last night, so I thought I should head home now, but I didn't want to wake you up…" she trailed off.

"Didn't you hear the water running?" he said irritated, "I was obviously awake."

She blinked, confused at Daniel's aggressive behaviour. "Daniel, you rent the entire _floor _of this building. Do you actually think I could hear the water all the way from the kitchen?"

He frowned, not having considered that, and said, "Alright. Tomorrow we're going shopping for a new apartment with a shower next to the kitchen."

The idea was so preposterous that Betty almost laughed, but didn't because it was _Daniel _who said it, so he was probably serious.

She sighed. "Daniel, don't do that…" she checked her watch, "Look, we'll talk about that later. Right now I need to get home before my Dad files a missing persons report, ok?"

Daniel stopped her. "Wait, I'll take you."

Betty shook her head vehemently. "No, no it'll be way too out of your way, and besides, with your Mom and everything, you must be busy-"

"Betty. They're the ones who are busy right now with arranging everything. My Father practically forbade me from lifting a finger in this case. Him and Alexis are taking care of Mom and Wilhelmina, so I might as well take it easy. And who better to do that with than your family?" he smiled winningly.

"Oh… ok," she finally agreed, easily won over by Daniel's smile.

"Then let's go!" Daniel exclaimed excitedly, grabbing his coat and gloves on his way out the door.

Betty giggled, happy that Daniel was in such a good mood. His smile easily made her feel great, and judging by the size of said smile, she was in for a very good day.

On the other side of town, however, her Father thought otherwise.

* * *

**AN- **What will happen with Mr. Suarez? And finally, the Suarez family makes an appearance! OMG, what will happen with the Meade family as well? 

(tostadas de ceviche- The tostada is a large round tortilla chip basically, and ceviche (it goes on top of the tostada) is a bunch of seafood mixed with different things like avocado and lemon and chile. It's one of my favorite dishes, and I just thought that Daniel might like it)


	10. Betty Recieves A Scolding

**AN- **Hiii everybody! Sorry for the EXTREMELY late update but I was swamped with work and then I fell into a lil UB depression, but I'm all better now!

Btw, I threw in a lil bit of spanish in here, but you don't have to immediately scroll down and check for the translation. It should be reeeeaaally easy to understand, ok? (Atleast I tried to make it easy!)

**OoO**

Once in the luxurious car, Betty decided to check her purse for her cell phone. She rummaged through her cluttered purse in search of the small contraption while Daniel amusedly watched her. Her face, which had previously been scrunched up in concentration, split into a smile when she found the desired object.

"Found ya," she grinned, but it soon drooped into a frown.

"What's wrong?" asked Daniel, noticing the change in his assistant.

"My phone's dead. Ugh, no wonder I never heard it ring last night…" she pondered to herself.

"Don't worry," Daniel smiled carelessly, "We'll be there pretty soon anyway."

**OoO**

"What in the world were you thinking, mija?!" Ignacio yelled frantically, "I was up all night waiting for you, and wondering if something bad happened! You're phone was off too, so we were all worried sick!"

Betty cringed under her father's angry stare, mentally berating herself for her irresponsibility.

She could see Hilda staring at her from the kitchen, understanding in her eyes (including dark circles under them). Santos and Justin were absent from the scene, and Betty made sure to ask about them once her father was done screaming at her.

"I can't believe how irresponsible you've become! I mean, Hilda I'd understand-"

"Hey! That's not fair and you know it," a shout from the kitchen said.

Betty let out a relieved sigh. If her father was up to making jokes again, then he was already cooling down which was definitely good new for her and Daniel.

Speaking of Daniel… Where was he? After her father had hugged her and entered the kitchen, Betty curiously turned around and was extremely amused by the scene she encountered.

"Daniel… Please stop hiding behind the coat rack. My Dad won't attack you, I swear," she added, grinning at the affronted look on his face.

"I wasn't hiding. I was just… appreciating the scene from a fairly large distance is all," Daniel said, his bright blue eyes dancing with humor.

Hilda laughed at his slight joke and it startled Betty to realize she even reentered the living room.

"Do you need help with anything?" Betty asked Hilda, noticing the sweet smell of food coming from the kitchen.

"Oh no, why don't you two sit down until the food is ready? Dad spent the whole morning making _papusas _for you when you came back," she looked at Betty.

"Oh," was Betty's sheepish response.

"Oh my god, oh my GOD!" thundering footsteps came from the stairs and Justin was soon seen by the occupants of the living room, "Clair Meade is going to be released! That is, like, the best news _ever! _I mean, yea, poor Wilhelmina and everything, but Clair is _way _more important- and oh my god! Daniel!"

Besides Hilda's words of 'congratulations', the other sound heard in the room was Ignacio dropping a few dishes in the kitchen. He immediately came into the living room and pulled Daniel from his seated and wrapped his arms around Daniel's surprised self.

"Oh, uh, sir…" Daniel stuttered awkwardly. His father was not one for affection so receiving hugs (other than from Betty) was still foreign for him.

"Daniel, son, you must be so happy," Ignacio's voice held such warmth and Daniel couldn't help but to hug back.

"I am, thanks... And I'm really sorry for not letting Betty come home last night, but the reason-"

"It's ok, _mijo_. I think I understand the situation now," he pulled away and turned towards the other people in the room, "Now who's up for some _papusas_?"

**OoO**

As everyone sat around the round table in the living room, Betty looked at the seating arrangements. Obviously, Daniel sat next to her and an empty chair and Justin sat next to that. Hilda was next to her son and father, who was next to her. It was during her contemplation of this when Santos appeared in the doorway, surprising everyone in the room.

"What the hell?" he asked, "Betty, when did you get back?" Santos sent Hilda accusatory looks, "And why wasn't I _told_?"

"Oooh, sorry honey!" Hilda immediately apologized, "If it makes you feel better, she just got back about five minutes ago."

Santos brushed off the apology, not really bothered by what happened. Instead he took off his coat and shoes (they were wet from the snow) and sat himself down in the empty seat.

"So Betty, where you all last night?" Santos, as if just noticing Daniel, added, "Oh, hey, wassup?"

"She was with me and , um, nothing?" Daniel said, still not sure how to respond to Santos' flippant manner of speaking.

His response was Santos coughing repeatedly.

"You mean I was out in the _snow _all morning looking for Betty while she was with you?" Santos asked. His tone wasn't angry, in fact, he seemed more amused by the situation than anything else, "Ha! I knew you were gunna fall for our lil' Betty here sooner or later."

Betty blushed to the tips of her ears, utterly embarrassed by Santos' assumption and Daniel reacted much the same.

Hilda slapped Santos on the arm, "Will you stop? The charges on his mom dropped and he was just told last night- of course Betty would be with him."

Santos' face held one of comprehension as he nodded. Betty, wanting a change of subject badly, turned her attention to Santos.

"You were looking for me?"

He managed to look slightly insulted as he answered, "When my sister-in-law doesn't come home at all and her cell's off, what do you think I would do? Sit home and watch TV?"

"Aw, I didn't know you cared!" Betty gushed.

Justin snorted. "Wasn't it _mom _who made you stop watching TV and go look for aunt Betty?"

Santos huffed and tussled up Justin's hair in response, to which Justin reacted with several shouts of 'stop! I just did my hair five minutes ago!'.

Everyone laughed except Daniel, who couldn't help but notice how happy everyone seemed. Now, he was never one to talk about his personal issues (boy, he had _too _many to talk about anyway) but he felt a twinge of longing whenever he was around the Suarez's lately. He loved his family, of course, but Betty's family held a certain aura around them that made Daniel want to be _part _of them. His own family was the sort who caused others to thank god for not being related to them.

"Betty," said Hilda, her small but rough hands passing the various plates around the table, "I was talking to Santos today about the guy, _el Mexicano que te avento el menudo, _you know?"

"Oh!" Betty exclaimed, remembering her run-in with Jose, "What about him?" she felt Daniel tug on her sleeve, slightly left out of the conversation and Betty mouthed 'Lopez' to him.

Daniel frowned. He had the feeling that the following conversation was not going to be enjoyable.

"Well, I was talking to Santos, you know, telling him how funny it was that the guy dropped menudo on you, and then Santos tells me that his old friend Pablo has a little brother who works around there. And since the guy's name is Jose Lopez, and the guy you met said his name was J. Lo., then they have to be the same!" Santos, who could honestly care less about the conversation or his busy-body wife, turned his attention to his food and only nodded when he was expected to.

"And your point is?" Betty asked while she also ignored Daniel's pokes to her stomach (Menudo on you? When? Are you ok?).

"My _point _is that I got his number! I mean, from what you said, he was totally into you. All flirty and gentlemanly, he _so _liked you!" Hilda said excitedly.

"Um, no," came Betty's stern answer, "he is in no way interested in me."

Daniel coughed loudly and a slight 'liar!' could be heard from him.

"I thought you would say that," Hilda said with a triumphant grin, "So I decided to call him in advance- and he confirmed it! He said he liked you and that he would love it if you went out with him."

Betty flushed darkly and could not respond to Hilda's claim at all. It seemed like the news shocked her, and she looked so uncomfortable that Daniel stepped into the conversation for her.

"Look," he said, deciding to take the matter into his own hands, "I'm actually working with the man on a project right now and I personally do not find him suitable for Betty to date."

Everyone at the table had different reactions to his statement and for a second, but only a second, there was silence. But the quiet did not last, for in the Suarez household, the word 'quiet' simply did not exist.

"Well, it really depends on his wardrobe- does he wear Armani?" Justin stared imploringly at Daniel from across the table.

"Who cares about his clothes, I wanna know why _you_ don't like him," Hilda said, but the smile on her face showed that she meant no harm.

"I know why," Hilda turned to Santos, the one who spoke, but she turned away after seeing him talking with his mouth full of food, "Just think about it- Nobodies good enough for Betty when it comes to Daniel. Anybody ever think about _that _little fact?"

Ignacio rolled his eyes. "Oh, calm down Sherlock Holmes and eat your food," Santos shrugged and dutifully went back to his food, "Besides, I agree with Daniel somewhat."

Daniel sent Betty a small smirk and a nudge, to which she simply smiled and rolled her eyes.

"Which is why, should the matter of him liking Betty come up, Jose will come next week to dinner. Daniel," Mr. Suarez added as an after-thought, "you should come too."

* * *

**AN- **OMG will jose come to dinner? Will I finally be able to move onto Monday, the actual work day??? 

Papoosas- I don't know how to describe them, but they're a salvadorean dish (thanks to a veeerry kind reviewer for pointing this out! I'm sorry I got it wrong!). I just reeaally like them lol.

mijo- my son

el mexicano que te avento el menudo- the mexican who threw the menudo on you (it doesn't sound so rude in spanish lol)


	11. Betty Gets Lost

**AN- Sorry for the long wait, but after I return from my trip to San Diego (I'm leaving in like five minutes so I'm typing like crazy lol) I will update regularly. Don't worry, it'll only last a few days. And sorry for only updating this and not the other two stories. This was the only chapter that I had ready to go, I still have the endings to do for the others. **

**I appreciate all of the emails and the great patience you readers have with me. I love you guys so much!! Oh, and a note on the ending. It might be a bit too dramatic but I've been watching kdramas and TWdramas a lot lately, so yea. My writing might reflect that lol. **

**And sorry for the typos that WILL be here. I didn't have time to re-read this, all i wanted to do was get the chapter out as fast as possible so I update before I leave. Sorry!**

**OoO**

"Why_?" _was the only thing that came out of Daniel's mouth as he contemplated the idea of having to meet with the disagreeable man named Jose.

"You know what? Let's not talk about this, there are a lot of more important things to discuss, like what movie we're going to watch," Betty stated, effectively changing the conversation around.

"Oh my god, we are _so _going to watch Juno, I mean, her style might be a bit retro, but I think it's totally _in," _Justin gushed.

"Movie?" Daniel questioned.

"Yeah, Justin kept bugging us," Betty received a light poke from her nephew, "all week to go watch it, and we decided that today would be good. Wanna come?"

"I wouldn't want to impose…," Daniel began, flicking his eyes slightly towards Betty's father.

Hilda laughed. "Imposing? Daniel, you're part of the family. You should come with us, it'll be fun. Besides, with everything that's happened to you, this'll do you good."

**OoO **

"Oh my gosh! That movie was _so _good, I mean, _sure _the guy's gym outfit ruined some of the scenes, but it was still so awesome!" Justin gushed as the whole family strode out of the movie theater. They had finished their breakfast and after Betty, along with everyone else, got ready to go out, the group had gone to the movies.

Daniel chuckled softly at Justin's enthusiasm. He was walking alongside Betty, who was also expressing her views on the movie's script. Leave it to Betty to focus on the writing than the actual movie, Daniel mused with a small smile.

"It's only three, are we going to go home already?" Justin asked.

"How about we go to the park and play some football?"

Justin scrunched up his face in distaste. "I think I like home better."

Santos shrugged. "I tried."

Hilda jokingly punched Santos and ruffled her son's hair affectionately. Ignacio walked closely behind Hilda and was smiling affectionately at the display in front of him.

Daniel slightly nudged Betty, both of whom were walking off to the side, somewhat separated from the scene. "Your family is pretty nice," Daniel stated quietly.

"I know," Betty nudged back.

**OoO**

"Oh, come _on!" _Daniel said, "Off to jail again? How many times has it been? Three? I'm _never _going to get any property this way!"

"It's alright, Daniel," Betty said encouragingly, "Dad always wins anyway."

Daniel sighed. "Yea, but I only own the electric company. The _electric company_, Betty. Do you know what kind of people own the electric company? Losers, that's who."

Betty stifled a sigh while Hilda stifled a laugh. "I'm guessing you've gotten stuck with that property before?" asked the older Suarez sister.

Daniel frowned. "Alex always won." It seemed like that was all he'd offer as his response. Truly, Betty thought, it _was _the only answer needed.

They were playing Monopoly in the living room, Santos hunched up on the edge of the couch with Hilda, Justin leaning against it with his grandfather next to him in a chair, and Betty was on the other side of the couch, Daniel snugly in-between the Suarez sisters.

"Ok, I give up. This is a _totally _not fair game and Grandpa is taking all of my money! I'm gonna go watch Gilmore Girls, I heard there was a marathon on today anyway," stated Justin as he got up with a huff.

"Is that the one where everyone talks really fast?" Santos asked.

"Yup."

"Wait for me, the mom is hot- ow!" Santos exclaimed after Hilda smacked his arm. He laughed and leaned down to kiss his wife, to which she jokingly turned her face.

"Um, I think I'll go watch my novella, hm? You're welcome to stay, Daniel," Ignacio said as he too got up from his seat to leave.

"Thanks, I really appreciate you having me," Daniel smiled, warmth reaching his eyes easily.

"Our pleasure," Ignacio smiled back as he patted Daniel on the back.

Once everyone left for their own ways, Daniel and Betty were left alone in the living room, sitting close due to comfort and not lack of warmth.

"So… you wanna watch TV?" Betty asked, her head resting against Daniel's arm.

"Nah. How about we go out?"

"Out? Where?" Betty peered up at her friend.

"I don't know, what about a restaurant?"

"Daniel, it's past midnight. I doubt there's going to be any restaurants open _now." _

"I could-"

"You are _not _forcing a place to open up just for us. _No."_

"Fine. What _do _you wanna do, Ms. Picky?"

"I don't know, what do you usually do when you're out with friends on a Saturday night?"

"Uh…" Daniel was quite reluctant to get into that kind of discussion considering those 'times' were not exactly his best. "We went out to clubs…" He wouldn't elaborate farther than that.

"Clubs? Why don't we go to one?"

"What, like seriously?"

"Yeah! It'll be fun!"

Daniel almost laughed at the excited and eager expression on Betty's face. "Alright, let me call Tony so he can bring the car around."

**OoO**

"Daniel!" Betty whipped her head around, eyes squinted in search of her friend. She and Daniel had arrived at a high-class club, the kind Lindsey Lohan would be seen photographed going into. Betty had to admit that the clubs she and Hilda frequented were nothing like this.

Lights hung from the ceiling, illuminating the whole _area _(oh _my, _this club was huge, Betty thought), and there were various levels to the building, the upper ones probably belonging to the VIPs. The place stank of alcohol, the music pulsated throughout the room, and there was an insane amount of people, intoxicated or otherwise.

Betty, stuck within the dancing crowd, had lost her contact with Daniel and was thus panicking slightly. She nervously pulled at her blouse, a black one that Daniel had picked for her specifically for the outing, and let out a small squeak when a hand gripped her wrist, thoroughly freaking her out.

"Daniel?" she shouting, turning around. But instead of Daniel's warm blue eyes, she met Jose's.

"Betty!" he yelled among the dancing people and noise, "What are you doing here?"

"What?" she replied, not quite understanding what he meant. Understanding, Jose tightened his hold on her wrist and led her through the throng to a small secluded corner.

"I asked," repeated Jose after they had reached the much quieter area, "what you were doing here."

"Oh, uh, I…," Betty stammered, her focus lost, as she looked for Daniel, "I'm here with Daniel. You didn't happen to see him, did you?" She met his eyes for the second time as she said this.

"Nah, I didn't him. But why are you here with him, eh? I thought you didn't have a boyfriend."

"Huh? Oh, I don't," she laughed, her eyes taking in his form for the first time that night, "Me and Daniel are just good friends."

"Oh," he said, dragging out the sound, "that's cool."

"Uh, yeah. Cool," she laughed.

Jose grinned cheekily and leaned back against the wall. Their little corner was dark with just a lone lamp hanging above their heads and was far away from all of the commotion. Betty felt that all it was missing were a few chairs.

"You look nice, Betty," Jose said, his eyes twinkling warmly down at her.

Betty, snapped out of her thoughts of what the corner was missing, looked up. "Um, thanks. You do too."

But while Betty felt that Jose had only complimented due to politeness, Betty sincerely thought that Jose looked good. He was dressed in loose fitting jeans, brown boots, and a dark brown long-sleeved shirt. While the clothes seemed a bit casual, the good-looking twenty-five year old gave them a bit of elegance.

"Hey, why don't _we _head up to the VIPs room?" Jose asked.

"Oh, but Daniel-"

"Is right there." Jose pointed across the dance floor to a man who walking briskly through the crowd, his head turning in search of someone.

"How convenient," Betty laughed. "Daniel!" she yelled, trying to get the older man's attention. The man's head whipped around, his eyes focusing on Betty. He smiled and began his trek towards her. However, when he reached a close distance, he spotted Jose and his smile wavered significantly, but Betty was oblivious. She was too happy at finally finding Daniel.

"There you are! I was looking all over for you!" Betty said as Daniel arrived.

"You were? Uh, sorry about that, I guess I lost you in the crowd." Daniel laughed hesitantly.

"Oh! I bumped into Jose in the crowd," Betty said, looking expectantly at Daniel. It was her hint that said 'be nice, not rude'.

"Hey," Daniel said awkwardly, his hand reaching out.

"Hey," Jose replied as they shook hands.

"_So," _Betty said after a few minutes of tense silence, "why don't we go find a place to sit?"

"Yeah, that's a good idea," Daniel said and his hand reached out for Betty's wrist right at the same moment as Jose's hand gripped Betty's other wrist. An understanding between the two men transpired at that moment.

"Daniel? Jose? I kinda need my hands…"

The grips only tightened in response.


End file.
